14 



III. Report on the Birds. 



Notwithstanding the almost entire absence of timber, and the gen- 

 erally arid nature of the country, the birds are comparatively numer- 

 ous, but belong mainly to a few species. The greater part are 

 of course prairie species, but more woodland birds occur than 



would naturally be looked for in a region so destitute of trees. 



Every tree and every clump of shrubbery, however isolated, forms 

 the home of one or more pairs of tree-nesting species, while the 

 continuous though narrow belts of trees, and their accompanying 

 undergrowths, are far more populous with bird-life than similar 

 patches of timber are in the better wooded parts of the country. 

 The prairies, particularly those east of the Yellowstone, abound in 

 birds, a few species, almost universally distributed, being exceedingly 

 numerous in individuals. These are, more especially, two species of 

 Plectrophanes (P. ornatus and P. Maccowni), the lark bunting (Cala- 

 mospiza bicolor), and the meadow lark (Sturnella ludoviciana var. 

 neglecta). The horned lark (Eremophila dlpeslris), the grass finch 

 (Pocecetes gramlneus), Baird's bunting (Centronyx Btiir'dii), the Mis- 

 souri skylark (Neocorys Spraguei), the yellow-winged and clay- 

 colored sparrows (Coturniculus passerinus and Spizella pallida), the 

 cow bird (Molotkrus pecoris), the night hawk (Chordeiles popetue var. 

 Henryi), the Carolina dove {Zencedura carolinensis) and the upland 

 plover (Aciiturus Bartramius), make up the chief part of the rest. 

 Of the woodland birds, the three by far most abundant species are 

 the Arkansas flycatcher (Tyrannus verticalis), the king bird (Tyran- 

 nus, carolinensis) and the red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes ery- 

 throcephalus) . The cat bird (Mimus carolinensis), the brown thrush 

 (Harporhynchus rufus), the yellow warbler (Dendroeca cestiva), the 

 Arctic towhee (Pipilo maculatus var. arcticus), and the common wren 

 (Troglodytes cedon) are next in abundance, and are pretty sure to 

 be met with wherever there are a few trees and thickets of under- 

 brush. The Arkansas flycatcher probably nearly outnumbers all the 

 other woodland species together, excepting the king bird, which is 

 almost equally abundant. Isolated trees, though miles away from the 

 nearest clump of timber, are sure to be inhabited by one or more 

 pairs of these birds. Thickets of low willows and rose bushes, how- 

 ever isolated, are almost equally certain to form the home of one or 

 more pairs of cat birds, or brown thrushes, or black-headed gros- 

 beaks (Goniaphea melanocephala) , and sometimes of each of these. 



